The Champions League’s third matchday produced a feast of goals, with 74 across 18 games, an average of 4.1 per match. Paris Saint-Germain beat Barcelona, Real Madrid beat RB Leipzig, Liverpool beat Villarreal, Real Betis beat Feyenoord and Aston Villa beat Viking FK, so all five sides remain a perfect 3-0-0. Como also thumped Manchester United, which has put Michael Carrick’s future in doubt. Bayern Munich and Arsenal drew 2-2 at the Allianz Arena, with Bukayo Saka limping off early with an injury.
Gab Marcotti, Sam Tighe, Mark Ogden and Beth Lindop break down the key talking points.
Will PSG regret going so hard against Barcelona?
PSG won the battle 4-2 at home, but Ousmane Dembélé hobbled off after 20 minutes, and Marquinhos and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia both went off injured on the hour mark. Kvaratskhelia has since been ruled out for the rest of the season with a torn ACL. Will Luis Enrique regret losing a star this early, and could it derail PSG’s hopes of a Champions League “three-peat”?
Ogden: “I’m not on board with this argument. Players can be injured at any time and Kvaratskhelia, Dembélé or Marquinhos could have suffered the same fate in Sunday’s Ligue 1 game at Lyon. It’s just an occupational hazard and, let’s be honest, Luis Enrique has rested and rotated all of his big stars throughout this season.” He argued that the coach was right to unleash his best players because it was a rare chance for them to face a team capable of challenging them, and that they will gain far more from playing Barcelona and Manchester City than Le Havre or Auxerre. Holding stars back against sides like Barça, he said, would mean a boring, unchallenging season in France.
Lindop: She agreed with Ogden. Even though the new format means league phase games aren’t hugely significant, PSG vs Barcelona is always a marquee fixture, and there is no guarantee players wouldn’t have been injured at other points. PSG have the unique luxury of regularly resting players in domestic competition so they are at their best in the Champions League, an approach that has paid dividends over the past couple of seasons. Even so, it is a real shame to see Kvaratskhelia suffer such a significant injury. She said Luis Enrique’s side are still favourites to retain their trophy, but losing a player of his talent is a huge blow.
Marcotti: He said you can get hurt at any time; what you don’t want is to be injured because you have been overplayed and are fatigued, and that is not an issue for PSG. He also noted that although they are dominant in Ligue 1, they won the league by six points and didn’t move into first place until mid-January. If they lose to Lyon on Sunday night they could slip into sixth place. Losing Kvaratskhelia makes them worse, but they have a wealth of attacking options in Maghnes Akliouche, Ferran Torres and Mika Godts. In his view, players such as centre-back Willian Pacho or midfielder Vitinha would be harder to replace.
Tighe: He questioned whether people are underrating Kvaratskhelia, arguing he is the best left winger in the world, assuming Kylian Mbappé is officially classed as a reluctant striker these days, and one of the top 10 players overall. Losing him for the season is a killer. PSG have more ammunition on the wings, with Désiré Doué continuing to grow into a superstar and heavy summer recruitment, but Luis Enrique’s intense style requires depth. They have lost their best wide man, which Tighe called terrible luck for Les Parisiens and sad for the game.
Are Liverpool’s results under Iraola for real?
Liverpool beat Villarreal 4-3 on Tuesday, scoring four straight goals after falling 2-0 behind through their own errors. They are perfect in the Champions League and have lost only once in all competitions, to Manchester City. Yet Bradley Barcola, Florian Wirtz and Alexander Isak haven’t shown their best, Dominik Szoboszlai is carrying an injury, right-back is unsettled (though Ronald Araújo is playing well for an “emergency loan”), and Rio Ngumoha‘s performances are covering up underlying issues. Is this a false dawn under Andoni Iraola?
Lindop: She said nobody at Liverpool is under any illusions that Iraola’s side are a work in progress. They look a level below Europe’s top sides and were particularly poor in the first half-hour against Villarreal. She believes they are too flawed to win the Premier League this season and probably the Champions League too, although you can never count them out in Europe. Iraola is implementing a new system with players still getting used to each other, so patience is required, especially given the recent injury woes. Ngumoha, though, is a real cause for optimism. Tuesday was his most complete display in a Liverpool shirt, and at only 18 he has a very bright future at Anfield.
Tighe: He called Ngumoha’s performance Liverpool’s biggest positive outside the three points. The youngster looked great on the right flank and appears capable of solving a conundrum for Iraola. The Reds entered the season with four wingers who all prefer the left, creating an obvious imbalance. Iraola has tried Cody Gakpo, Víctor Muñoz and Ngumoha on that side, and Tighe feels the latter can really make it stick.
Marcotti: He called it a false dawn in the sense that Iraola isn’t a manager who has an immediate impact on results, because his football takes more time to digest. Bournemouth took only three points from his first nine games in charge, then improved season after season, from 11th to ninth to sixth. It will be a slow burn because he inherited a poorly assembled squad, in Marcotti’s view, and Virgil van Dijk is likely to leave, meaning a defensive restart next season. Iraola has done that before, losing three of his back four in one summer at Bournemouth and coming back stronger. He is also without first-choice centre forward Hugo Ekitike until the new year. The result is patchwork football, starting with Araújo at right-back. Marcotti found Ngumoha encouraging and noted that Ryan Gravenberch is learning, Jérémy Jacquet is growing in confidence and Muñoz looks serviceable. He doesn’t expect to see a “real” Iraola team for a year at the earliest.
Ogden: He thinks Liverpool are going along just fine. They are in a period of transition and won’t challenge Arsenal and Manchester City for the title, but every club suffers some pain when pressing the reset button. Ngumoha is their brightest attacking talent, which doesn’t reflect well on Wirtz and Barcola, but Liverpool are exciting going forward and likely to score more than they concede in most games. Patience is non-existent in top-level football, but it is what Anfield requires. “It could be worse,” he added. “Just look at Manchester United.”
Should Man United sack Carrick now?
United lost 4-1 at Como and then took shots at each other, with captain Bruno Fernandes openly questioning Michael Carrick’s tactics. Should Carrick go straight away or after the international break, and was Lisandro Martínez right in his rant last week?
Tighe: It can’t all be down to Carrick, but he said Martínez’s interview bailed him out massively. The team is not well set up and is not functioning properly. United finished the summer short of a left-back and a striker, but they recruited good midfielders who are performing horribly. Is that the players’ fault, the manager’s fault or both? Youri Tielemans has suddenly gone from one of the Premier League’s best midfielders to someone who looks way off it, and by that logic Andrey Santos should get more of a pass. Carrick holds a lot of responsibility, Tighe said, just not all of it.
Ogden: United’s players don’t look fit. Their running stats are among the worst in the Premier League, and if they lack fitness that is down to the manager and his coaching staff. The squad is full of misfits, some, like Luke Shaw, dating back to Louis van Gaal’s time (2014-16), and too many players are not good enough, too old or both. Ogden says Carrick has to go because he isn’t qualified for a job of this stature, and that it never works when an interim manager gets the job permanently. United need a coach who will get the players fit, organised and disciplined. “Hello, Mr. Antonio Conte.”
Lindop: She feels a little sorry for Carrick. Martínez’s comments point to a club in disarray behind the scenes, and Carrick is the latest in a long line of managers to struggle at Old Trafford. There is no silver bullet, particularly if the hierarchy above him remains unchanged. Still, she agreed his days look numbered. He did an excellent job steadying the ship last season, but never had the pedigree to take the role long term. Conte would spice things up, but the union would surely end in disaster, although it would make great content for the club’s “All or Nothing” documentary.
Marcotti: Responding to Ogden’s challenge, he listed interim bosses who succeeded. Roberto Di Matteo won the Champions League, Zinedine Zidane won three, and Hansi Flick won the Treble and is now doing well at Barcelona. Tony Barton won the European Cup with Aston Villa. Edin Terzic won the German Cup and reached a Champions League final. Garry Monk took relegation-threatened Swansea City to eighth the following season, and Chris Coleman took Fulham to ninth. The problem, he said, is that all those men had exceptional players or a very solid club, or both, and United are neither.
Marcotti sees two separate questions. Can Carrick get United where they want to be? Probably not, so he should go. It was too big a jump, midweek football is hard to adjust to, and this group of players is clearly running at half-speed for him. For a critical game, he noted, the only senior outfield players on the bench were Joshua Zirkzee, Amad Diallo and Carlos Baleba. The second question is what is wrong with the club, and there Martínez was right. There are serious issues of communication and drift, and it is about accountability and vision, not just the transfer window and Jason Wilcox’s choices. That won’t be fixed straight away.
Ogden: He conceded Zidane and Flick, but said Di Matteo was gone within months of signing a new contract, which is basically the fate awaiting Carrick. Marcotti replied that most United fans would be happy with Carrick winning a Champions League and then being sacked.
What did Bayern’s 2-2 draw with Arsenal tell us?
Arsenal were virtually at full strength, minus William Saliba. Bayern were missing Joshua Kimmich, Jamal Musiala and the suspended Michael Olise, and Luis Díaz came on as a substitute before going off injured. Does the draw say more about Bayern or about Arsenal’s title chances?
Lindop: It was a high-quality game with three brilliant goals. She thinks Arsenal will be happier, not only because they equalised late but because it was another mature away performance. Losing Saka in the first half was a blow, but Eberechi Eze did well replacing him, and if any squad is equipped to handle injuries it is Arsenal’s. She can see them going deep again. Bayern are hard to assess with so many absentees. Vincent Kompany will be disappointed with how they managed the game at 2-1 up, but she expects a different proposition once the big guns return.
Marcotti: Had Barcelona vs PSG not happened, this would have been the game of the round. Losing Saka after 10 minutes did Arsenal no favours, but they showed a ton of character. This was the Arsenal of last season, hunkering down, staying compact and playing in transition. He doesn’t think they should play that way in every game (nor does Mikel Arteta), but it was right away from home. He isn’t a Viktor Gyökeres guy, yet he called that selection the right call, and he isn’t sure Kai Havertz could have laid the ball off as Gyökeres did for Declan Rice‘s goal.
Bayern were disappointed to fail to win from 2-1 up at home, but Marcotti said they must be graded on a curve. Kimmich’s leadership is missed, and while Tom Bischof is great, he has a long way to go to match it. Alphonso Davies showed he can still cut it as a winger, and Olise’s absence leaves a gaping hole. Both opening goals came from outstanding transition passes, from Martin Ødegaard and especially Harry Kane. Arsenal neutered Bayern, he said, but not Kane dropping deep and picking out streaking wingers. “There’s no answer to it.”
Ogden: Bayern have a better squad, more talented individuals and a goalscorer in Kane who is exactly what Arsenal need to reach the next level. Both will go deep, but had Bayern not run into PSG in last season’s semi-final they would have reached the final. With more options, tactical flexibility and a less competitive league than the Gunners, they are an all-round better bet. Right now PSG, Bayern and Barcelona are head and shoulders above the rest, with Arsenal in the next group, and Arteta needs to add variety and adventure to make them a real threat to the big three.
Tighe: The result suits all parties. Bayern expect to win at home, but with those absences, and in a league phase fixture, a draw is palatable. Arsenal did what they needed to, and the fact that Saka’s injury didn’t rock them is a major positive. The extent of Saka’s injury, not any points dropped, is what will most concern Arteta.
Dealer’s choice: what else stood out?
Tighe: Manchester City beat AEK Athens 5-1, thanks largely to academy graduates. Phil Foden was the star with a hat trick, showing manager Enzo Maresca he has fire in his belly. Rico Lewis assisted two of the goals, 17-year-old Floyd Samba won the free kick that started it all, and 18-year-olds Ryan McAidoo and Kaden Braithwaite came on and made an impact, McAidoo teeing up Foden’s third. It was something to keep season ticket holders warm on a cold, rainy night.
Ogden: The sparse attendance at the Etihad was a concern. Football is expensive for supporters, but the many empty seats pointed to City’s relatively small fanbase, which doesn’t tally with commercial earnings on a par with Real Madrid’s and bigger than United’s. When United played Sabah FK at Old Trafford last month, 73,685 fans paid to watch. The official attendance against AEK was 40,042. When a club claims to be a global commercial superpower, he said, it needs fans to fill the stadium, as Real Madrid, United, Liverpool and Bayern do.
Lindop: With Monday’s Ballon d’Or ceremony approaching, Kane again showed why he is a worthy contender. He wasn’t at his sparkling best against Arsenal, yet still scored from the penalty spot and teed up Davies. His goalscoring record is phenomenal, but his passing range makes him a joy to watch, and on another night he could have had a hat trick of assists. She admitted a possible English bias, but is rooting for him at next week’s ceremony in London.
Marcotti: He said there had been enough City criticism lately and he couldn’t care less about the Ballon d’Or, so he focused on Como. Nico Paz could walk into just about any team in the world right now. Como were also missing three starters (Trevoh Chalobah, Assane Diao and Moise Kean), and the last time United conceded four in a game was in May 2025, away to Brentford. “Cesc Fabregas is the real deal.” Como have spent beyond their means and will likely be visited by the Financial Fair Play fairy, he said, but their players are mostly youngsters or middling players reborn under Fabregas.